I like yoga and food, what more is there?

Monthly Archives: December 2011

I can’t remember the last New Year’s Eve that we actually went out? For the last 6 years, I’m pretty sure I spent the evening taking down the Christmas decorations. Which suites me fine. It’s not that we don’t have any invites, we have had them in the past and this year too but we don’t mind so much, New Year’s is not a holiday either of us really see any point in. This year I thought it might be fun to have a family New Year’s but that didn’t work out, onto plan B. Bryn picked up some Coronas for himself and got me Mango Cider. I’m hoping to last until midnight. Although I did follow through on one of my New Year’s traditions of packing away all the Christmas decorations. I loved having them out but definitely don’t like dragging out the Christmas season and I don’t mean that in a bah-humbug way.

As I was putting the kids to bed tonight I told them that when they wake up tomorrow it would be 2012, today was the very last day of 2011. They were amazed by this and Brody thought that meant he went to school tomorrow. With the talk of moving into the new year I told the boys that tomorrow we could think about our New Year’s resolutions. Kaden said “oh no, I hate resolutions, last year’s resolutions SUCKED”! haha I guess to an 8 year old giving up candy does suck! On a positive note they did a great job of sticking to the resolution and we were able to cut out a lot of candy and sweets from their diet. Maybe this year we’ll be a little more collaborative about what we choose?

What are your New Year’s resolutions for 2012?

In my world this is still the happiest way to spend new year’s eve.

Happy New Year with peace and love all throughout the year.

Mmmmango cider and cinnamon donut holes.

This afternoon I made Cinnamon Donut Holes from Vegan A Go-Go cookbook that Bryn got me for Christmas. It’s a little pocketbook style book that is perfect to tote along when you’re traveling. Looking forward to enjoying them with my mango cider!

This afternoon we dropped the boys off with Bryn’s mom so she could treat them to lunch and the latest Chipmunk installment “Chipwrecked”.

So we had a few hours to waste, which was a good thing because we got to go for lunch. We ended up going to Slickity Jim’s Chat and Chew located on Main St. at 19th. This was my first time to Slickity Jim’s and I was excited but didn’t have my expectations too high. I was pleasantly surprised at how great it was. It’s a small place, so be prepared to wait for a table. The service is very informal, I had to write our name down on the wait list (chalk board) myself but still friendly and polite. It’s a cool joint but doesn’t feel pretentious even though every hipster in town is there.

The food came served on mismatched second hand dishes which added to the charm of the diner. The food was better then I expected, I ordered the tofu scram called “we don’t need no eggs and bacon”, it came with roasted potatoes and toast. I thought it was great. Bryn ordered the club house sammie, called “three slab grab”. My favourite thing about Slickity Jim’s is that it’s not a vegan restaurant but has vegan options which makes life a little easier for me and my man and our dilemma of eating out.

This afternoon we met some of Bryn’s friends from work at Britannia skating rink in East Vancouver. After skating for an hour or so we were ready for dinner. We headed over to North Burnaby for our favourite burgers at Burgers Etc.

I personally feel that sometimes we give the word need too much power. We need people in our lives to learn and grow, we are all equal and we learn from and teach each other all the time. In my experience, we need to have a deep connection and unconditional love with ourselves before we can truly connect with and love another human…it would be nice if we could be whole or fulfilled or just at peace with who we are and who we are not, so we can have nurturing relationships that are fulfilling and balanced. Without inner peace, relationships can become needy or dysfunctional or just plain drama. This is one of the many reasons I love yoga as it leads the inner journey toward the soul and fosters the feelings of peace and happiness.

This year we aimed to have a stress free holiday season. We were preemptive and tackled any possible stress inducing situations head on. I’d say we were pretty successful. On Christmas day, we visited with Bryn’s mom in the afternoon then headed to his dad’s for dinner. Huge smiles from both kids and their grandparents.

Christmas Eve.

Kaden & Brody

Brody loves Lego Ninjago

I love Christmas!

We all had a great time and are so grateful to be spoiled by our family.

I hope your Holidays were filled with warmth and family to last throughout the year.

Yes, you read that right. My oven’s been invaded by Ninja! (apparently even when plural it’s still ninja)

Naked ninjabread men waiting for their gi’s….

I used Isa Chandra Moskowitz‘s recipe from Vegan Cookies invade your cookie jar called gingerbread cut-out cookies. I have enjoyed every recipe I have tried from this book and her companion cupcake cookbook so I was confident with trying it for the first time and knew I’d be able to share them with family and friends. The recipe is very easy and made with common ingredients so no need for a trip to the specialty store. The dough was easy to work with, rolled out perfectly and baked in under 10 minutes. Also this recipe made 35 ninjabread men.